Tom Brady saw shot after shot go wide right last Sunday in The Match II featuring Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning and yes, Mr. Brady.
Brady struggled mightily on the first nine holes — he didn’t make a single par, pulled off that miracle hole-out wedge for birdie at the par five seventh then watched as Tiger Woods nearly stole the hole with an eagle putt that lipped out.
Truth be know, Brady shot a very untidy 51 on those first nine holes and his problems can be traced to golf’s most important fundamental — the grip. Brady has a weak left-hand grip.
Look at most high-handicappers and the common theme there, most often, is a poor grip.
As a youngster, Arnold Palmer’s father, Deacon, showed young Arnie the proper grip and sternly told his son “Don’t you ever change it!”
Palmer went on to have, well, a pretty darn good career in the game.
In case you don’t know what a “weak” left hand grip is, basically, the left thumb is too far on top of the shaft and the handle of the club (the grip) will sit too much in the palm of the player’s hand with a weak grip.
At least one guy in recent times did pretty well with a weak left hand and that was Jordan Spieth. But his grip kept getting weaker and weaker and before you know it, his game took a turn for thge worse and he’s still struggling to find the form that won him those major championships.
The ideal grip for the left hand is along the life-line in your left palm if you’re a right-handed player, the opposite for a lefty. That way the fat pad of your hand sits on top of the grip, your thumb and forefinger will form a “V” that should point up your right shoulder.
If you take your right hand and lay the life-line against the side of your left thumb, your right thumb and forefinger will form a “V” that should, also, point at your left shoulder.
Tom Brady’s “Vs” point at his chest, thanks to that grip and if he makes a good swing, SURPRISE, the ball goes right, well right because the weak grip causes the club face into an open position at impact. He’d over-correct and his shots when way left — the dreaded two-way miss!
